A State of Decline

I must admit something right here, right now.

I am afraid.

Why am I afraid, you ask? Well, it's rather simple, really. I am, from this post on, in a state of decline. How can I possibly ever, in my whole life, hope to beat coldplosions? I mean, I could change the name to snowplosion (which I am beginning to think sounds fancier than coldplosion), but really... I have nowhere to go but down. You are now witnessing my demise. Watch, with amusement, as I try to rail against the growing darkness. Watch as I fall from grace into the fiery embers of hell. It promises to be amusing, to say the least.

Today, I'd like to talk about airplanes a bit, if you'll bear with me. Me, I've always liked airplanes. They're pretty fancy what with their going super fast and whatnot. And they also fly, which is awesome. But, what may or may not be commonly known is just how much flying costs. I just checked an airfare.... Both WestJet and Tango, two of the cheapest airplanes around, flying from Kelowna to Vancouver, a distance of 400 kilometers as the plane flies..... costs, with takes, about $170. Which is, for the distance, a bit pricey, in my opinion.

But that's nothing. My impending trip to Europe, the flight is expected to cost a little over a thousand bucks from Vancouver to England. I can understand a flight halfway around the world costing a fair chunk of change, but to me, that seems a bit steep. I would imagine about 600-700 bucks as being reasonable.

But then there's this: I've been looking into the many different ways to travel around Europe. One way that is often cited is by airplane. When I first heard "Let's fly from London to Edinburgh", I immediately wrote it off because I don't have that kind of money. If a flight from Kelowna to Vancouver costs $170, a flight from London to Edinburgh should cost about $200. Or so my logic said. I didn't even really look into it. My mistake.

My father was the one who was bored and started glancing at various methods of transportation. He found out something very interesting. A flight from London to Edinburgh can cost as much as.... wait for it, wait for it.... $35. And yes, dollars. Not pounds. To which I say "guffah"? A Greyhound type bus, from Manchester to Glasgow: 1 pound. 1. I kid you not. Last time I went to Vancouver, a ticket, booked several weeks early so there was a massive discount, was about 60 bucks. This bus trip, of a similar distance, cost, in Canadian dollars... 2 bucks. To which I must ask this simple question.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT AND WHY THE HELL CAN'T WE DO THAT HERE?

A trip from Barcelona to Dublin... 30 bucks by plane. I'm telling you, if Air Canada could have essentially domestic short flights that cost 30 bucks, people wouldn't hate them.

Take notice, North America. Cheap transport is the future! Now reflect your prices accordingly! Take up the fight, people! Stick it to the man! Demand cheap transport! Travellers of the world, unite!

I shall see you all upon the eve of the revolution.

~Cow